Wading into the credit card POS space for a retailer or business is a huge step and it should be a marker of business volume to warrant such a service. Credit Card POS systems open up a whole new world of consumers and will widen your customer base greatly. That being said, the services are not free, of course as you will have to pay out of pocket for the service. This cost should be attributed to the cost of doing business as the old adage dictates, “you have to spend money to make money”. There are some merchants out there who eschew credit card POS for various reasons and these reasons are usually false. Staying cash-only in this day and age is akin to traveling down a freeway in a horse and buggy, it’s just not feasible or sustainable. These cash-only merchants like to spread myths about credit card processing that they may have heard second or third hand. We’ll cover some of these myths below.
Chargebacks To The Merchant
The big myth that’s usually spread about chargebacks is that anybody can dispute a purchase made for any drummed-up reason to get their money back without going through your business to avoid a direct dispute. This myth is simply just that, a myth as merchants have the ability to dispute a chargeback from a consumer.
The merchant can provide copies of the receipt and any return policies or warranties issued at POS to the credit card processor. The processor will act as an arbitrator in the dispute between the consumer and the merchant and render a decision, usually within a couple of weeks after all documents have been reviewed. The more information provided by the merchant, the better the chance that the chargeback request from the consumer will be denied.
Credit Card Processing Equipment
This one seems to be a huge hurdle for merchants to enter the credit card POS space. Other merchants love to trot out that old line about the equipment and setup costs being too expensive. The big fear is that the merchant will not break even on the equipment and other upfront costs for many months or even years. These statements are patently false as there are many options for the merchant to take when entering the credit card POS field.
Typically, the ceiling for credit card POS equipment runs anywhere between $500 and $700. Again, it goes back to the whole spending money to make money (widen your client base) principle that was touched upon earlier. For those merchants who simply don’t have the capital for the equipment upfront, there are credit card processors that will lease you the equipment with no up-front costs or fees. The merchant would just pay a monthly lease fee for the equipment with either a straight lease contract or a lease-to-own situation.
Data Breaches & Cardholder Safety
Merchants who don’t like credit card processing systems often claim that cardholder data can be accessed by hackers and breaches can be easy to pull off. These merchants have watched one too many spy movies to come to this conclusion! Nothing could be further from the truth as cardholder data safety has never been more secure than it is right now.
All credit card processors must be in compliance with PCI DSS which stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. This means that every processor must have data protection for their services and would face huge fines and penalties for being non-compliant.
Conclusion
If your business is considering taking the plunge into accepting credit cards, you should not fall prey to misinformation and myths to sway your decision. Studies have shown that consumers who spend with credit cards spend vastly higher amounts than those consumers who pay with cash. If you’d like to know more about credit card processing and how to add this service to your business, please contact Dynamic Merchant Solutions today!
